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Recommend a color laser printer for home
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Ham Sandwich
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Nov 21, 2018, 01:36 PM
 
[...deleted...]
( Last edited by Ham Sandwich; Apr 23, 2020 at 10:09 AM. )
     
P
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Nov 21, 2018, 02:07 PM
 
HP Color LaserJet Pro 200 M277dw.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
reader50
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Nov 21, 2018, 06:47 PM
 
I avoid Lexmark print products. They went to the Supreme Court trying to kill generic ink/toner, so they can jack their prices up. They lost, but after spending millions of dollars on lawyers, trying to jerk people around. If they want to screw us that bad, they'll find a way.

I avoid HP print products. They abused the firmware update process, by distributed a trojan-horse firmware that disabled generic inks. As people might not apply it when they heard about this, HP included a 6-month countdown before the generic inks were blocked. After enough public backlash, HP relented, making a manual firmware available that people could apply. A year later, they re-released the block on the main update channel. This time without a countdown - the block applies immediately.

My usual recommendation is Brother printers lately. They don't fight generics much, so generics are plentiful and cheap for most models.

I have a color laser myself, an Oki C332dn that I'm happy with. Tends to drop to about $160 around Black Friday. Speed and color quality are excellent. Not quite as good as an inkjet with glossy photo paper, but better than they used to be with pictures. It can take an auxiliary paper tray, if that is your thing.

The toner was modified from previous models (which had dirt-cheap generic toners) and the generics are still catching up. They're about 1/3 the price of the official toners, and should hit rock bottom within another year.

It has USB and gig Ethernet, but the WiFi card is an expensive option. (version with card included is the hard-to-find C332dnw.) Instead I got a refurb Trendnet AC router for $20, flashed it with DD-WRT, and set to Client mode. As an external WiFi adapter, it's faster and far more reliable than any built-in WiFi I've seen on a printer.
     
mindwaves
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Nov 21, 2018, 07:48 PM
 
Brother all the way, but no specific models recommended. I will only buy Brother.
     
ghporter
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Nov 21, 2018, 09:31 PM
 
Canon is good about not fighting generics, and I like their attention to detail. Staples has the Canon imageCLASS MF634Cd color, duplexing, wireless, all-in-one laser for $209.99 right now. I don't have any personal experience with this printer, but I've really liked all of the Canons I've owned.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego
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Nov 21, 2018, 09:41 PM
 
I’ve had issues where Canon will stop updating drivers.
     
OreoCookie
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Nov 22, 2018, 02:26 AM
 
As a general note: manufacturers have gone the inkjet printer route with laser printers, if you pay less for the printer, you will pay more for toner. If you are concerned about drivers, get a printer with Postscript — no drivers are then needed. All you need is the ppd file. You also want a network connector and AirPrint compatibility. The latter allows you to print from iOS devices without drivers.

Regarding specific makes and models: Oki makes great color lasers that are very compact. They popularized LED printers (which are technically different from laser printers, but not in ways that are relevant here), and their design allowed for fast, compact color laser printers. I also love proper duplex printing capability, i. e. the ability of the printer to print on both sides.

The aforementioned Oki printer ticks all of the boxes: Postscript 3? Check. Networking? Check. AirPrint-capable? Check.

The only other suggestion I can come up with is: why don't you consider the multifunction model instead? That costs $299.
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P
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Nov 22, 2018, 06:17 AM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
I avoid HP print products. They abused the firmware update process, by distributed a trojan-horse firmware that disabled generic inks.
This is true, but only applied to inkjets. The lasers are still second to none. The one I suggested above is a fantastic printer. I bought one for my parents, and one of my colleagues at work has one as well. They're rock solid, print great, and have great support from printing from anything. If all else fails, make a PDF and email to the printer, and it will print it. Perfect for guests that just want to print something and not install printers.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
subego
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Nov 22, 2018, 06:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Perfect for guests...
Who want to randomly send you creepy shit.
     
P
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Nov 22, 2018, 10:08 AM
 
Well, they can do that already if they have your email.

There are other solutions if your guests are not trustworthy. You can install an application on the device (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) that only allows printing if on the same network.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
subego
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Nov 22, 2018, 12:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
Well, they can do that already if they have your email.
Oh... everybody expects creepy shit in their email.

You’re a gracious host, so I’m going to go the extra mile.
     
Ham Sandwich
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Nov 22, 2018, 12:38 PM
 
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ghporter
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Nov 23, 2018, 06:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I’ve had issues where Canon will stop updating drivers.
I haven’t had problems with printers not working with newer OS versions, but I have seen situations where they don’t keep up with what the newest OS might support.

My MX 310 ink jet all-in-one is sort of in that category, but since it came out in 2008, it’s pretty darn old. And the fairly old drivers still work with Mojave. The problem I have is that I can print to it via my Airport Extreme’s USB connection, but I can’t scan - or fax - that way. OK, that’s a limitation, but it’s more about the printer’s hardware (USB only, and not built to translate to a networkable data format) than the drivers.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
   
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